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Rapid response teams are a interim fix to hospital emergency care and indicate poor bed management, according to a commentary article in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Supporters said RRTs aren't used as a replacement for intensive care but are able to intervene and keep patients out of the ICU.

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Dr. Harold Varmus, director of the National Cancer Institute, will launch a program in October aimed at asking top scientists in the U.S. about tumor metastasis and other mysteries surrounding cancer, in an effort to broaden the search for targeted cancer treatments. Called the Big Questions Initiative, the project could help identify patients who are most likely to benefit from aggressive cancer treatment, said Dr. Otis Brawley of the American Cancer Society.

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Analyzing medical malpractice cases can lead to improvements in patient care that prevent future mistakes, experts say. Many cases involve diagnostic errors, and researchers have found there often are at least three breakdowns in the system that lead to missed or delayed diagnoses.

Rapid response teams are a interim fix to hospital emergency care and indicate poor bed management, according to a commentary article in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Supporters said RRTs aren't used as a replacement for intensive care but are able to intervene and keep patients out of the ICU.